Groton labor groups object to records release

By Pierre Comtois, Correspondent

Updated:
07/16/2013 12:52:39 AM EDT

GROTON -- The town's labor organizations presented a united front before selectmen Monday over their objections to the release of executive-session minutes detailing meetings between members and municipal officials to the public.

"We adamantly oppose the release of such records," said town planner Michelle Collette of the recently formed Town Hall employees' union.

Speaking for all of the town's unions, including police and fire, Collette told selectmen that if their demand was not met, the unions were prepared to file a formal grievance with the state's attorney general's office.

According to Collette, the issue came to the unions' attention after comments made by board member Jack Petropoulos appeared on a local computer network.

There, said Collette, selectmen referred to the release of executive-session minutes dealing with employee matters as "dirty laundry" that should not stay buried.

Collette said employees did not consider personal issues discussed under the protection of executive session as "dirty laundry."

"This town is a great place to work and until now, I always felt employees were done right by the town and supported," said Collette, adding that should the attitude displayed by Petropoulos persist, there would be a loss of trust between employees and town officials.

If all executive-session minutes were to be made public, said Collette, employees would not feel safe in airing their concerns or grievances to officials.

Petropoulos said the state's open-meeting law required the release of executive-session minutes while providing exceptions for individual privacy on a case by case basis.

Petropoulos told Collette it was the first responsibility of selectmen to decide what would be released. And if anyone objected, he said there were safeguards in place such as an appeal process leading to the attorney general's office.

Board member Stuart Schulman said while he could not think of any executive-session minutes that he would agree to release, he hesitated to guarantee that such a time would never come.

"You're banging on an open door," Schulman told employees.

The hearing ended when the board decided it should draft a new policy dealing with the release of executive-session minutes.

Also at the board's meeting Monday, selectmen mulled a request by PCM Realty Trust for a license with the town to conduct landscape improvements across the street from businessman Peter Myette's 120 Boston Road property.

According to company attorney Robert Anctil, the improvements, including clearing away of brush and low-hanging tree branches, was needed to improve the sight lines for vehicles pulling out of 120 Boston Road.

The improvements were needed as part of Myette's plan to redevelop his 3-acre property and construct a pair of two story buildings intended for medical offices.

One building will have a footprint of 8,305 square feet while the other will have 2,400 square feet.

The total project will come to 21,410 square feet of floor space.

A Town Meeting vote approved Myette's concept plan allowing him to proceed with the project.

But as she did on the floor of town meeting, Dottie Mack, owner of Avalon Home Design next to Myette's property, objected to the license agreement citing the need for screening across the street to protect people from wayward golf balls coming from the town's Country Club.

To support her contention, Mack had brought along a basket full of wayward golf balls she had collected.

In addition, Mack expressed her "extreme disgust" when PCM Realty refused to postpone the hearing when she told them that she would not be able to attend due a family emergency.

"You raise legitimate concerns," said Cunningham.

After concerns were raised by other board members, and the Police Department and DPW, the hearing was continued until July 29 when Cunningham assured Mack that there would be ample opportunity then to air her concerns about the plan.

Also at the July 15 meeting, selectmen:

* Voted to make initial appointments to the Green Communities Act Research Committee including Bruce Easom from the Conservation Commission, town planner Michelle Collette, and Groton Electric Light Department manager Kevin Kelly. Other members including those from the school district and a local builder were yet to be identified. The Green Communities Act was passed by the state's Legislature establishing a Green Communities Division that is to recruit towns and cities for a program intended to promote "energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives." If Groton joined, it could receive up to $135,000 in grant money. For that reason, selectmen voted earlier in the month to create the Research Committee and charged it to conduct a cost analysis to see what if any expense there might be to the town in joining, to prepare a warrant article for Town Meeting if the decision were made to move forward with joining, and to prepare a draft application for membership.

* Ratified the hiring of Michael Bettano as a desktop repair technician in the town's Information Technology Department.

* Learned that a second RFP (Request For Approval) for the redevelopment of the mothballed Squannacook Hall yielded a new applicant. Town Manager Mark Haddad promised to fill in the board in more detail at a future meeting.

* Learned that a first draft of a Light Department Building Project Post Mortem Report had been prepared and that its meeting Aug. 12 had been scheduled for discussion of the document which was ordered following a sometimes contentious review process dealing with plans by the Groton Electric Light Department to build a new headquarters complex on its property along Station Avenue.

* Ratified the appointment of Wendy Good to the Trails Committee.

* Appointed Geanine Haberlin to fill an open seat on the Park Commission.

* Approved a carry-in liquor license for Johnson's Restaurant along Boston Road. The such application by the restaurant, member Anna Eliot expressed concern about the family atmosphere of the business which includes an ice-cream stand, selectmen restricted the use of alcohol to indoors only and between noon and 9 p.m.

* Learned that the town now has its own Twitter account which can be accessed through its web site.

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